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Despite its pledges to cut back, the Unites States is releasing more planet-warming methane into the atmosphere than ever before, according to new research from Kayrros, an environmental data company.
Using a combination of satellite data and artificial intelligence, Kayrros found that the United States is continuing to release more and more methane into the atmosphere. Scientists are seeing this as a "red flag" considering the United States was one of the first to sign the Global Methane Pledge, which set a target of reducing global, man-made methane emissions by 30 percent from 2020 levels within a decade. Because methane traps about 30 times more heat than carbon dioxide, the increasing emissions could make it nearly impossible for the world to meet this goal.
Methane is the main component of natural gas and can leak from storage facilities, pipelines, and tankers. It is also deliberately released by producers through venting, which is the intentional release of large quantities of methane, and flaring, which is when it is intentionally burned off. Venting and flaring are common in the United States—the country emits more methane from oil and gas production than any other country in the world.
Concentration of methane in the atmosphere is now more than two-and-a-half times as much as preindustrial levels, a majority of which is man-made. According to scientists, this means that while humans have been the main driver of methane emissions, we have the power to slow or mitigate them.
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We need in our lifetime to put this in the hands of somebody that can preserve it for longer than they will be here.”
